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The final push towards Berlin 1944-45!
This isn't my first SPWW2 AAR, but it is the very first one that I'm writing about here. I plan on writing one AAR every Sunday - hopefully, since my family also takes up a lot of time - and there will be a total of 10 battles taking place between June 1944 and May 1945.
The final push towards Berlin on the Eastern Front! Basic force: -Soviet HQ + Boys Carrier (8 men) -Tank Batallion (32 T-34/85 - 160 men) -Tank Destroyer Battery (11 SU-85 - 44 men) -Assault Gun Platoon (5 SU-122 - 20 men) -Artillery Regiment (8 122 mm - 288 men) -Forward Observation vehicles (2 BA-20M - 6 men) -Anti-Aircraft Platoon (4 GAZ-AA 37 - 24 men) -Anti-Tank Battery (6 57 mm L73 - 30 men) -Infantry (8 Rifle & 1 MG Companies and 8 Bazooka - 1.276 men) This mighty force will go head to head with the still mighty German forces, and hopefully be a powerfull fighting force until the very end. Battle one: Belorussia, June 1944 - Meeting Engagement Support forces: -2 Rocket Batallions (50 static BM-31 rocket platforms - 300 men) -Air Support (4 IL-2 Shturmovik - 8 men) Let the battle begin! Cheers, Taskforce |
Re: The final push towards Berlin 1944-45!
Screenshots and maps will be very handy.
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Re: The final push towards Berlin 1944-45!
Don't worry, here it comes.
http://s16.postimage.org/69rvfcn39/Battle_1_Turn_0.jpg The plan is simple: Force A consists of infantry, a SU-85, a SU-122 and a BA-20M. They are supported by two 57 mm anti-tank guns and a MG, and their job is to advance and secure the north region. Force B consists of infantry and a SU-85. They are backed up by two 57 mm anti-tani guns on the road to their south. Their job is to advance and secure the large wooded area. Force C consists of infantry, a SU-85 and a SU-122. Their job is to advance and secure the large open area south of the road. Force D consists of the tank batallion, some SU-85s, some SU-122s and a BA-20M. Their rear is secured by two 57 mm anti-tank guns and a MG. Their job is to advance deep into enemy territory, sweep through it and then return towards their own lines to hopefully attack enemy units from behind. The whole attack is supported by the BM-31 static rocket platforms, grouped in the two wooded areas to the rear, plus the artillery regiment and the four IL-2 Shturmovics. The artillery regiment and the air support is planned to be used multiple times against different areas, depending on where the threats appear, and the BM-31 static rocket platoforms to be used once with concentrated fire against one single area once. The battle begins... Cheers, Taskforce |
Re: The final push towards Berlin 1944-45!
There you go... When you're inside the forum's word editor, press that yellow button with scenery image on it, then paste the image URL into the box and ok. Or, you can just copy paste this below code and put the image URL right inside of it: [IMG]image url here[/IMG] |
Re: The final push towards Berlin 1944-45!
Battle report:
http://s8.postimage.org/4u61ey4tx/Ba..._Turn_33_1.jpg Force A advanced as planned when the two anti-tank guns saw three armoured scout vehicles and destroyed two of them. After that five PzIV were seen and eventuelly four of them were destroyed by the commander of the SU-85 battery. The fifth and the last scout vehicle were destroyed by the infantry. Combat losses consisted of a SU-85. After this the infantry turned south and south-west and the SU-85 command vehicle together with the BA-20M continued west. The BA-20M was later destroyed by a anti-tank gun. http://s13.postimage.org/g5mnu8jfr/B..._Turn_33_2.jpg Force B advanced according to plan, but were unlucky enough to face a large number of Panther tanks in the forrest area. It was decided by the taskforce commander to give the entire firesupport from the BM-31 static rocket platforms to this area, which resulted in a large number of immobilised Panther tanks, of which all but two later were destroyed by the infantry, which took very heavy losses during the battle. One more was destroyed by a anti-tank gun positioned near the road and the last one survived and could be towed away by the surviving Panther tanks after the battle. http://s12.postimage.org/iwjqsn5tp/B..._Turn_33_3.jpg Force C also advanced according to plan, but were also unlucky to face a large number of Panther tanks, that were traveling on the road. After this this force was pretty much stuck here and also took heavy losses, although not as heavy as those of force B. They were able to destroy a platoon of Puma armoured scout vehicles and a Panther, but couldn't do much more during the battle. http://s15.postimage.org/7wrscujx7/B..._Turn_33_4.jpg Force D had a good start and at first destroyed a PzIV platoon for only one combat loss and then were able to destroy two captured T-34/76 and some anti-tank guns for a few more combat losses. After that the force splitted up into two groups, one heading north towards the flags and one heading west. The group heading west continued to destroy several anti-aircraft guns and most importantly the German' artillery support and managed to capture and hold all the flags to the rear of the German' area. The group heading north however were wiped out by the Panther tanks. http://s9.postimage.org/me2c94sdb/Ba..._Turn_33_5.jpg The areas of force A and force B remained calm and they were able to maintain control of their objectives, even though it was at the cost of very high losses. The combined rear area of force C and force D were in danger as the Panther tanks, supported by PzIV tanks, broke through the defensive line. It was now that the anti-tank guns near the road and in the south-east performed a wonder and managed to destroy six Panther and one PzIV tanks for the loss of only one crewman. They also contributed in the destruction of yet another Panther tank by tracking it so it could be destroyed by a IL-2 Shturmovic. http://s14.postimage.org/v8m9xi9cx/B..._Turn_33_6.jpg After these actions some flags could be re-captured by MG units to the rear of the Soviet area. http://s10.postimage.org/g5tdaxkft/B..._Turn_33_7.jpg Losses: The Soviet taskforce lost a total of 34 tanks and 695 men, mostly infantry, and the German taskforce a total of 55 tanks, 4 halftracks, 21 artillery and about 750 men in total. http://s17.postimage.org/fe5huqx0f/B..._Turn_33_8.jpg The tank battalion lost 22 tanks and 19 crews. The tank destroyer battery lost 6 tanks and 3 crews. The assault gun platoon lost 4 tanks and 3 crews. The BM-20M unit lost 1 armoured vehicle and 1 crew. http://s15.postimage.org/6j9c90zff/B..._Turn_33_9.jpg Claims: The tank battalion claimed 14 tanks, 4 halftracks and 16 artillery destroyed. The tank destroyer battery claimed 17 tanks destroyed. The anti-tank gun battery claimed 10 tanks destroyed. The infantry as a whole claimed to have destroyed 12 tanks and armoured vehicles plus 5 artillery in close combat actions. And finally one of the supporting IL-2 Shturmovics claimed 1 Panther destroyed. Battle result: The result of this battle was a draw, as neither side had an advantage and held some lf the flags. Replacing losses: Since more than enough T-34/85 tanks were held in reserve, replacing the losses suffered by the tank battalion was no problem. It was also no problem to replace the entire losses suffered by the infantry. Four of the infantry companies also got their MG units replaced with Bazooka teams and the MG company was transformed into a pure HMG company, replacing the LMG units with HMG units. The losses of the tank destroyer battery was a bigger issue however, since not enough SU-85 tank destroyers were available, because of this only the surviving crews got a replacement SU-85, increasing its strength from 4 to just 7 tank destroyers. It was decided to re-build the assault gun platoon from scratch and with the good connections of the task force commander it was possible to replace the remaining SU-122 with two ISU-122 tank destroyers. If successful during the next battle, three more ISU-122 will be given to the unit, effectively transforming it into a complete tank destroyer platoon. The BA-20M was not replaced. New basic force: Basic force: -Soviet HQ + Boys Carrier (8 men) -Tank Battalion (32 T-34/85 - 160 men) -Tank Destroyer Battery (7 SU-85 - 28 men) -Assault Gun Platoon (2 ISU-122 - 8 men) -Artillery Regiment (8 122 mm - 288 men) -Forward Observation vehicles (1 BA-20M - 3 men) -Anti-Aircraft Platoon (4 GAZ-AA 37 - 24 men) -Anti-Tank Battery (6 57 mm L73 - 30 men) -Infantry (8 infantry & 1 MG Companies and 12 Bazooka - 1.184 men) Battle Two: Vilna, July 1944 - Meeting Engagement Support forces: -Tank Company (10 IS-II - 40 men) -Air Support (2 IL-2 Shturmovic - 4 men) Note: With a family to care for, it's a lot of work. I'll hopefully be able to post my next AAR next Sunday. If not, you'll simply have to wait one more week. Btw, just in case someone wonders, I've added the IMG tags in this post, but the pics still only show as links. |
Re: The final push towards Berlin 1944-45!
http://s14.postimage.org/wp3t31syp/B...2_Turn_0_1.jpg
The attack force consists of three tank forces - force A, force B and force C - and four infantry forces - force 1, force 2 force 3 and force 4. Each tank force consists of three IS-II and ten T-34/85 tanks, with force B re-enforced with two more T-34/85 tanks. The support forces - the anti-tank guns, the SU-85 and ISU-122 tank destroyers, the remaining IS-II heavy tank and all of the HMGs - are spread out on the high grounds opposite the high grounds, where the flag groups are located. Force A will attack to the north and then split up into two groups, one heading west and one heading south, towards the north flag group. Force B and Force C will start at different points but both will have the mission objective of capturing the flag group to the south. Parts of all the tank forces will have the job of securing the rear sector of the German area. Force 1 and force 2 will have the objective of capturing the flag group to the north. Force 3 will try to capture the flag group in the middle. Force 4 will try to capture the south flag group. Let the battle begin... |
Re: The final push towards Berlin 1944-45!
RE: AAR report #6
Is tank Group C actually advancing through the trees on the southern edge of the map or will it utilize the east-west road about 10 hexes north of the southern map edge? Enjoying your AARs, Spledge |
Re: The final push towards Berlin 1944-45!
The infantry, force 4, is advancing on the dirt road and the tanks, force C, is moving through the forest area. This way it will hopefully avoid detection as long as possible, with lots of Panther tanks probably being part of the German' taskforce and the T-34/85 being very easy do destroy for a Panther while a T-34/85 has big problems destroying a Panther, especially with a frontal hit.
Cheers, Taskforce |
Re: The final push towards Berlin 1944-45!
http://s9.postimage.org/r5t38c41b/Ba..._Turn_21_3.jpg
Right from the very beginning of the battle, the artillery fire, while softening up the rear area of the south flag group, managed to destroy two anti-tank guns on the dirt road. http://s7.postimage.org/w9vkfrqsr/Ba..._Turn_21_4.jpg Force A, force 1 and force 2 all advanced towards the north flag group. The tanks faced two armoured recon vehicles and five Panther tanks and all were destroyed by the IS-II tanks. At the same time lots of German’ tanks, mostly Panthers, were advancing on the north road and managed to take the flag, although suffering some losses from the support units on the opposite high ground. Finally the back of the attack was broken by an air attack by the two IL-2 Shturmovic ground attack aircraft, which destroyed two tanks and tracked a further three. After this the T-34/85 tanks could go around, behind the German’ tanks while the IS-II tanks moved in to destroy the remaining tanks. While this was going on , the infantry was slowly but surly advancing and also destroying some tanks. Two IS-II were destroyed, but the third held on, although being tracked, and this combined with the support fire from the opposite high ground, ensured a secure capture of the north flag group. http://s13.postimage.org/5vrjtukrr/B..._Turn_21_5.jpg Force 3 advanced according to plan, but suffered both losses and ran into problems when the fast advancing Panther tanks spotted them after capturing the north and centre flag groups and also called in artillery. It was only after the successes and advancing of the other forces that the infantry was able to capture the centre flag group and also destroy one of the Panther tanks. http://s7.postimage.org/bw4fkdk6j/Ba..._Turn_21_6.jpg Force B, force C and force 4 all reached their objective very fast and managed to capture the south flag group in the very beginning, and after this never gave way nor lost a single flag to the German’ forces. Although suffering losses, especially among the T-34/85 tanks, the managed to stop a powerful counter attack by nine PzIV tanks with some help from the T-34/85 tanks from force A. As the infantry took control of the flags, most of the tanks advanced behind German’ lines, destroying several artillery units and depleting the German’ Panther tanks of their support units. http://s17.postimage.org/n0qbcqgn3/B..._Turn_21_7.jpg These combined attacks ensured a near total victory over the German’ taskforce. http://s18.postimage.org/73jbexeqx/B..._Turn_21_9.jpg Losses: The Soviet taskforce lost a total of 23 tanks and 295 men, mostly infantry, and the German taskforce a total of 65 tanks, 4 halftracks, 17 artillery and just over 500 men in total. http://s9.postimage.org/5d9kfpb3j/Ba...Turn_21_10.jpg 6 German’ tanks and 9 German’ artillery pieces were found abandoned by the Soviet’ forces - of the 6 tanks, 5 were Panther tanks, of which 4 only had their tracks shot off and the last had its main gun destroyed by its crew before surrendering. The last abandoned tank was a PzIV. http://s13.postimage.org/7so9yfbfr/B...Turn_21_11.jpg Thus 4 Panther tanks could be put into service right away and after extensive repairs of the main gun, which is going to take some time, the last captured Panther can be put into service as well. The captured PzIV, it was decided, was given to another taskforce, since the captured Panther tanks would have a greater combat value and survivability on the battlefield. The tank battalion lost 17 tanks and 12 crews. The tank destroyer battery lost 2 tanks and 2 crews. The BM-20M unit lost 1 armoured vehicle and 1 crew. The AA platoon lost 1 vehicle and 1 crew. The IS-II company lost 2 tanks and 2 crews. The IL-2 ground attack aircraft lost 1 airplane and 1 crew. Claims: The tank battalion claimed 22 tanks and 5 artillery destroyed. The tank destroyer battery claimed 4 tanks destroyed. The anti-tank gun battery claimed 1 tank and 4 halftracks destroyed. The tank destroyer platoon claimed 3 tank destroyed. The infantry as a whole claimed to have destroyed 6 tanks in close combat actions. The artillery claimed two artillery destroyed. The IS-II company claimed 22 tanks and 1 artillery destroyed. And finally the supporting IL-2 Shturmovics claimed 2 tanks destroyed. Battle result: Although the Soviet’ forces controlled all the flags and most of the area behind the German’ lines, three isolated pockets of resistance only made this battle a minor victory. Replacing losses: The four captured Panther tanks, renamed T-5g, and a T-44 pre-production tank, given to the taskforce in order to test its performance during combat conditions, meant that only 12 T-34/85 were needed to replace the ones lost during the battle. After the next battle, the fifth T-5g will see service with the Soviet’ taskforce, until then it is being used for training purposes for within the taskforce. The losses suffered by the tank destroyer battery meant that its force shrunk from seven to just five SU-85. But the commander of the taskforce arranged to have the existing SU-85 replaced by five SU-85M, with stronger frontal armour and a greater chance for the veteran crews survival. With the success of the two ISU-122, destroying three tanks for the loss of only a single crewmember - one of the two ISU-122 taking more than 15 hits and still surviving the battle - it was decided to give it a further three ISU-122, making it a fully operational tank destroyer platoon. The BA-20M was not replaced. It will still be decided what to replace the two lost BA-20M with. However, two 76,2 mm anti-tank guns are among the alternatives. The destroyed GAZ-AA 37 mm was replaced. New basic force: Basic force: -Soviet HQ + Boys Carrier (8 men) -Tank Battalion (27 T-34/85, 4 T-5g & 1 T-44 pre-production - 159 men) -Tank Destroyer Battery (5 SU-85M - 20 men) -Assault Gun Platoon (5 ISU-122 - 20 men) -Artillery Regiment (8 122 mm - 288 men) -Anti-Aircraft Platoon (4 GAZ-AA 37 - 24 men) -Anti-Tank Battery (6 57 mm L73 - 30 men) -Infantry (8 infantry & 1 MG Companies and 16 Bazooka - 1.160 men) Battle Two: Poland, August 1944 - Delay Support forces: -Tank Destroyer Group (2 M10 Wolverine) -Air Support (6 IL-2 Shturmovic - 12 men) |
Re: The final push towards Berlin 1944-45!
Those images show up just fine on my computer.
Could be some sort of forum or browser error since one can see the pictures while others can not. I'm using Opera by the way. |
Re: The final push towards Berlin 1944-45!
Been too busy lately...
http://s9.postimage.org/h63qwqfr3/Battle_3_Turn_0.jpg No fancy tactics here, since the mission is hold the ground and defend all the flags. The infantry, together with small groups of T-34/85 tanks will advance, thus detecting the enemy and giving the supporting units, located on high ground with hopefully good enough fields of fire, something to shoot at. Cheers, Taskforce |
Re: The final push towards Berlin 1944-45!
A right-hook starting by taking the hill in the north behind the road followed by a mobile assault south into the enemy's rear over open ground looks enticing. Your thoughts Commander?
https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B1S...m84aTJPVFdjNW8 |
Re: The final push towards Berlin 1944-45!
http://s8.postimage.org/9n4c7x6g5/Ba..._Turn_50_1.jpg
It was clear from the very beginning that this battle wasn’t going to be an easy victory. The terrain caused lots of problems regarding fields of views for the supporting units and it was expected to encounter lots of tanks, above all Panthers, from the German’ side. http://s13.postimage.org/h10rqv4rr/B..._Turn_50_5.jpg The infantry advanced as planned, encountering the enemy after a few minutes and then starting a fierce battle, which would be relentless towards both sides right up until the last 20 minutes, when the Soviet’ taskforce, or at least what remained of it, got a small but big enough advantage over the German’ forces. Initially the German’ taskforce lost much more tanks than the Soviet’ side, but after that, quite unexpected, the German’ tanks and anti-tank units started to cause heavy casualties among the Soviet’ armoured fighting vehicles. http://s7.postimage.org/f6rvhozff/Ba..._Turn_50_6.jpg When the situation was stable in the south, where the heavy machine guns combined with what remained of the infantry companies were enough to hold the enemy at a distance, it was somewhat uncertain in the middle and started to critical in the north, where a small group of tanks all of the sudden started to capture the flags. Finally, after quickly re-grouping, this threat could be put to a stop and all that remained of the German’ forces were anti-aircraft artillery and fields guns, which couldn’t be dealt with due to the way too weak Soviet’ forces, and three tracked German tanks, that insisted on not letting them selves being captured nor knocked out. http://s9.postimage.org/8y14io8q7/Ba..._Turn_50_7.jpg The outcome of this battle hanged by a thread, even when the German’ losses far outpaced those of the Soviet’ taskforce, and it was only due to the sacrifice and violent resistance of the infantry companies that this battle could be won. If it hadn’t been for them, the German’ tanks would have been able to drive straight through the Soviet’ lines and capture all of the flags. http://s17.postimage.org/epb3oitrj/B..._Turn_50_8.jpg Losses: The Soviet taskforce lost a total of 33 tanks, 2 anti-tank guns, 1 aircraft and 975 men, the great majority infantry, and the German taskforce a total of 124 tanks, 4 halftracks, 1 artillery and more than 900 men in total. Of the 124 German’ tanks lost, a total of 8 were abandoned by their crews. http://s15.postimage.org/rrocpa0uz/B..._Turn_50_9.jpg The tank battalion lost 26 tanks and 20 crews. The tank destroyer battery lost 3 tanks. The tank destroyer platoon lost 3 tanks and 3 crews. The anti-tank gun battery lost 2 anti-tank guns and 3 crews. The support tank destroyer group company lost 1 tank and 1 crew. The IL-2 ground attack aircraft lost 1 airplane and 1 crew. http://s12.postimage.org/9a8o8dogd/B...Turn_50_10.jpg Claims: The tank battalion claimed 69 tanks destroyed. The tank destroyer battery claimed 10 tanks and 1 halftrack destroyed. The anti-tank gun battery claimed 3 tank and 1 halftrack destroyed. The tank destroyer platoon claimed 12 tank destroyed. The infantry as a whole claimed to have destroyed 19 tanks and 2 halftracks in close combat actions, including a Tiger I. The support tank destroyer group claimed 2 tanks destroyed. And finally the supporting IL-2 Shturmovics claimed 1 tank and 1 artillery destroyed. Of the total claims of the tank battalion, 52 were made by the T-34/85 tanks (23 lost), 11 by the T-5g tanks (3 lost) and 6 by the pre-production T-44 (surviving the battle). http://s18.postimage.org/47td576xl/B...Turn_50_11.jpg Overall combat performance by the T-44 was considered very good, its frontal armour being practically in-penetrable even for the 75 mm KwK 42/L70 gun, and its 85 mm gun was just as good as that of the T-34/85. Complaints however were made about the mechanical reliability, which required much more work by the mechanics and crew than then other tanks, even the captured T-5g. Battle result: Although the Soviet’ forces controlled all the flags, the remaining forces were too weak to push towards the rear German’ lines and destroy the artillery remaining there, thus the result was a minor victory. However, during the circumstances - with the huge losses on both sides - this result was far better than a draw or minor loss. Replacing losses: The tank battalion, it was decided will step by step be transformed from a Medium Tank Battalion into a Heavy Tank Battalion, thus some of its losses were replaced with 8 IS-II fresh from the factory. One of these was given to a veteran crew, the rest to freshly trained crews. This together with the remaining T-34/85 tanks, which are to valuable at the moment, the T-44 pre-production tank and the newly captured German’ tanks, makes it a very mixed unit indeed. 8 German’ tanks - 1 Tiger I, 6 Panther G and 1 PzIVH - were found abandoned by the Soviet’ forces. The first seven were put into service at once, replacing the four T-5g either destroyed or put out of fighting condition, with the Tiger I being re-designated T-6a, due to the existence of the Tiger II, which would be renamed T-6b if captured. Again, the T-4h was given to another taskforce, due to its lower survivability under fire, compared to the T-5g. Since none of the tank destroyer batteries veteran crews were lost during the battle, it was no problem replacing the three lost SU-85M tank destroyers with fresh ones from the factory. The losses of the tank destroyer platoon however meant that only the two surviving crews got their ISU-122 fixed. With a new, upgraded version of the ISU-122s, with stronger lower frontal armour, this model will gradually replace the older ISU-122 tank destroyers after the next battle. The losses of the anti-tank gun battery and the infantry were completely replaced. New basic force: Basic force: -Soviet HQ + Boys Carrier (8 men) -Tank Battalion (4 T-34/85, 8 IS-II, 6 T-5g, 1 T-6a & 1 T-44 pre-production - 91 men) -Tank Destroyer Battery (5 SU-85M - 20 men) -Tank Destroyer Platoon (2 ISU-122 - 8 men) -Artillery Regiment (8 122 mm - 288 men) -Anti-Aircraft Platoon (4 GAZ-AA 37 - 24 men) -Anti-Tank Battery (6 57 mm L73 - 30 men) -Infantry (8 infantry & 1 MG Companies and 16 Bazooka - 1.160 men) Battle Four: Rumania, September 1944 - Meeting Engagement Support forces: -Heavy Tank Battalion (10 IS-II - 40 men) -Air Support (4 Yak-9T - 4 men) |
Re: The final push towards Berlin 1944-45!
Having a family sure takes a lot of time...
http://s7.postimage.org/pq8on11vv/Battle_4_Turn_0_1.jpg The terrain is a combination of high ground and low ground and a mix between wooded and clear areas. Thus using the forces available will be more difficult. The attackforce will be divided into four attackgroups, each with their own different targets and objectives, supported by the supportunits on the high ground and in the rear. Group A consists of two infantry companies and four T-5g tanks, and their objective will be to capture and defend the north flag group. Group B consists of two infantry companies and four T-5g, one IS-II and one T-44 tank, their objective will be to capture and defend the centre flag group. Group C consists of four infantry companies and four T-34/85 and two IS-II tanks, and their objective is two-fold - to capture and defend the south flag group and if possible wreck havock in the rear German lines. Group D consists of 15 IS-II and one T-6a tanks and their job is to advance deep behind enemy lines and wreck havock among the enemy units they will encounter there. If needed they will turn back and attack / defend the flag groups from the rear. The rest of the taskforce will be support units and a reserve attackforce, that will capture / defend the flag groups if needed. The 122 mm artillery will have two main targets, the high grounds most rear of the German' lines, since this is the place where AT guns, AA guns etc. will be located. Let the battle begin... |
Re: The final push towards Berlin 1944-45!
Looks like one could run Task Force (TF) D up the diagonal road (from east to north) at the start of the game just behind TF A also. The road has a tree line along it to offer cover and one would avoid some of the rough terrain east of the road by doing so.
Just suggesting... |
Re: The final push towards Berlin 1944-45!
http://s7.postimage.org/jl1eue1hn/Ba..._Turn_25_1.jpg
In the beginning of the battle, as the forces A, B, C and D advanced towards their targets, Puma armoured scout vehicles started to appear and after about five minutes, they had all been destroyed. After that force D ended up in tank to tank combat against a mixed unit of Panther G and PzIVH tanks, resulting in 8 destroyed tanks for the loss of a single IS-II. Minutes later a few more PzIVH tanks appeared in the north sector and tracked a T-5g before finally being knocked out. Now however, the north sector was under Soviet control and all the flags were captured, with the infantry fanning out to defend them and all the IS-II tanks except four staying behind to help them defend them and the T-6a heading south to help out at the south flag group, where a strong German’ force not only had captured all the flags but also managed to knock out both IS-II tanks and track the T-44, that now relied on the mass of infantry being able to hold it’s positions and protect it. The four T-34/85 tanks, knowing that they stood no chance against the Panther G tanks, had headed north towards the centre flag, to take part in the defence there instead. http://s9.postimage.org/jrwiq743j/Ba..._Turn_25_5.jpg The four other IS-II tanks continued towards the rear area of the German’ lines and arrived just in time to stop an armoured assault by a large number of PzIVH tanks heading towards the centre flag group, which had just been captured for the loss of a T-5g, with the crew surviving. They managed to destroy all the enemy tanks for the loss of a IS-II and then continued further south, to deal with the German’ mortars, which had been spotted. http://s9.postimage.org/rr5gz08lb/Ba..._Turn_25_6.jpg The T-6a arrived in the south flag area but was also knocked out by the German’ tanks, the experienced crew with 10 confirmed kills being killed. Thus, with both the north and centre flag groups in Soviet’ hands, all of the mobile support units - the ISU-122 and SU-85M tank destroyers - headed southwest to help out in defending the captured territory and try to capture the south flag group. http://s9.postimage.org/8foim5ksf/Ba..._Turn_25_7.jpg It was only after very hard fighting that the south flag group slowly but surely began to come under Soviet’ control. First the five Panther G tanks were destroyed and then the remaining German’ tanks fell under artillery fire. Some of them tried to re-capture the centre flag group, knocking out a SU-85M, the crew surviving, but it failed. A second attempt made by a strong force of Panther G tanks also failed, after a trap had been set by the Soviet’ tanks and tank destroyers. A final attempt to re-capture the flags also failed, although it resulted in the destruction of a IS-II tank. Finally, after further fighting, the superior mass of Soviet’ infantry moved in to capture the south flag group, thus ending the battle. The few infantry groups remaining couldn’t do much about it and the fire support was reduced in half, thanks to a second mortar unit being abandoned. It was good planning and a large portion of luck that decided this battle, had force D been to the north, chances were that the German’ forces would have been able to perform a pincer move and made it more difficult to re-capture them. http://s17.postimage.org/g7ar1kmnj/B..._Turn_25_8.jpg Losses: The Soviet taskforce lost a total of 8 tanks, 2 aircraft and 184 men, the great majority infantry, and the German taskforce a total of 78 tanks, 4 halftracks, 2 artillery and about 400 men in total. Of the 78 German’ tanks lost, 1 was abandoned by its crew and could be captured by Soviet’ forces. The 2 artillery units - mortars - were also found abandoned after the battle. http://s15.postimage.org/5wkg2rdd7/B..._Turn_25_9.jpg The Soviet’ losses included 3 IS-II with crews, 1 T-6a with crew and 1 T-5g without crew from the tank battalion, 1 SU-85M from the tank destroyer battery and finally 2 IS-II with crews from the heavy tank company. http://s9.postimage.org/bf0h6e0lb/Ba...Turn_25_10.jpg Claims: The tank battalion as a whole claimed 36 tanks and 2 halftracks destroyed. The tank destroyer battery claimed 9 tanks destroyed. The tank destroyer platoon claimed 1 tank destroyed. The heavy tank company claimed 19 tanks destroyed. And finally the infantry claimed 12 tanks and 2 halftracks destroyed during intensive close combat actions. http://s9.postimage.org/krwgwreyn/Ba...Turn_25_11.jpg Of the total claims made by the tank battalion, 9 were made by the IS-II tanks, 7 by the T-34/85 tanks, 2 by the T-44 and an incredible 20 by the T-5g tanks. Battle result: Since the Soviet’ taskforce managed to capture all the flags and control all of the flag areas, the battle ended up as a decisive victory. The German’ forces simply didn’t have enough manpower re-capture the south flag group nor to capture the north and centre flag groups. Replacing losses: Since the battle was such a great success, it was possible to transform the entire mixed tank battalion into a pure heavy tank battalion, equipped with 27 IS-II and 5 T-5g tanks. Thus the old and battle scarred T-34/85 tanks could be given to another medium tank battalion. The T-44 was given back to the factory for evaluations based on the reports regarding its combat performance and the combat damage received, the old T-44 crew being issued a brand new IS-II instead. It was also possible to almost completely re-build the tank destroyer battery, from just 5 to 10 SU-85M, thus just a single SU-85M from reaching full strength again. The tank destroyer platoon however will have to put up with just 2 ISU-122 for a while longer. The infantry also got their losses completely replaced. The T-5g put out of fighting condition during the last battle in Rumania, with its main gun destroyed by another Panther G, had in the meantime been worked on and transformed into an improvised APC by removing the turret and closing the turret ring with thick wooden boards and adding a heavy AAMG for extra firepower. This APC was now given to the Soviet’ headquarters, enabling it to take more active part in the future combat actions as well as providing more armour protection for the HQ. New basic force: Basic force: -Soviet HQ + T-5g APC (8 men) -Heavy Tank Battalion (27 IS-II & 5 T-5g - 133 men) -Tank Destroyer Battery (10 SU-85M - 40 men) -Tank Destroyer Platoon (2 ISU-122 - 8 men) -Artillery Regiment (8 122 mm - 288 men) -Anti-Aircraft Platoon (4 GAZ-AA 37 - 24 men) -Anti-Tank Battery (6 57 mm L73 - 30 men) -Infantry (8 infantry & 1 MG Companies and 16 Bazooka - 1.160 men) Battle Five: Latvia, October 1944 - Defend Support forces: -Fortification works: Minefields, barbed wire, dragon’s teeth & trenches -Artillery Support (2 122 mm batteries - 72 men) |
Re: The final push towards Berlin 1944-45!
Better late than never...a lot of Christmas preparations.
http://s11.postimage.org/qxmsvn4b7/B...5_Turn_0_1.jpg The plan is simple: A long line of Dragon's Teeth will keep the tanks and armoured vehicles at bay long enough for the defence to transform chaotic situations to controlled chaos and two lines of barbed wire will help keeping two of the forrest areas safer. The infantry and Tank Destroyers are in the front line and the IS-II and T-5 tanks are reserves, ready to pop up when needed. Let the battle begin... |
Re: The final push towards Berlin 1944-45!
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As expected the battle turned out to be a hard one. The fortification works team had built a line of Dragon’s teeth all the way from the north to the south, complete with strands of barbed wire in the forest areas. This turned out to be a smart move, since this effectively stopped the German’ tanks from advancing any further and bought the Soviet’ taskforce valuable time needed to regroup forces when needed and fight back. http://s14.postimage.org/61fpk6mup/B..._Turn_32_6.jpg At first German tanks appeared in the middle together with trucks and halftracks carrying infantry. Some of the tanks and halftracks got knocked out by the AT guns and tanks, while the heavy machineguns also managed to destroy a couple of trucks with their heavy fire support. At the same time, to the south, a few infantry groups had advanced along the road to spot any enemies approaching. They managed to destroy a few tanks in close combat, but after that it didn’t take the attackers long to wipe out these brave groups down to the last man. http://s7.postimage.org/r4vezhxsb/Ba..._Turn_32_7.jpg To the north things were under control but started to get worse when all of the sudden a couple of Tiger II tanks were seen. The Panther G and PzKpfw IV tanks could be dealt with pretty easily by the IS-II tanks, but these heavy tanks were much tougher. Soon a few IS-II were destroyed, along with a ISU-122, and the rest reversed into cover. The brave AT gun, situated just along the line of Dragon’s teeth, managed to destroy four enemy vehicles before being destroyed. http://s14.postimage.org/y5dmkpvsh/B..._Turn_32_8.jpg Things were under control thanks to the brave infantry and the artillery fire support, which managed to disperse a large gathering of tanks to the north and kept the rest under pinned down. And things stayed this way until a small breach in the line of Dragon’s teeth to the south allowed some German’ tanks to slip through. But thankfully these could be destroyed rather easy thanks to the rugged infantry groups and some IS-II tanks. http://s8.postimage.org/rt2iu7mfp/Ba..._Turn_32_9.jpg Thus the Soviet’ taskforce managed to hold their lines and protected the flags from the German’ taskforces grasp. Losses: The Soviet taskforce lost a total of 11 tanks, 1 AT gun and 418 men, the great majority infantry, and the German taskforce a total of 131 tanks, 7 halftracks, 7 trucks, 1 artillery and about 1.000 men in total. Of the 131 German’ tanks lost, 16 were abandoned by their crews and could be captured by Soviet’ forces. http://s1.postimage.org/t1lm3z2a7/Ba...Turn_32_10.jpg These abandoned vehicles included 4 Tiger II, 8 Panther G, 3 PzKpfw IVH and 1 Puma armoured scout vehicle. All of the Tiger II tanks and one Panther G were taken over by the Soviet’ taskforce, with the rest of the Panther G tanks being stripped of spare parts, ammunition etc. before being turned over to the Soviet’ high command together with the rest of the captured equipment. http://s7.postimage.org/oq84st6x7/Ba...Turn_32_11.jpg The Soviet’ losses included 7 IS-II together with 5 crews, 1 T-5g with crew, 1 ISU-122, 2 SU-85M with crews and 1 AT gun with crew. http://s7.postimage.org/sdshcm4i3/Ba...Turn_32_12.jpg Claims: The heavy tank battalion as a whole claimed 45 tanks destroyed. The tank destroyer battery claimed 36 tanks and 2 APC destroyed. The tank destroyer platoon claimed 4 tanks destroyed. The AT battery claimed 1 tank, 3 APC’s and 2 trucks destroyed. The heavy machineguns claimed 5 trucks destroyed. The artillery claimed 2 tanks, 2 APC’s and 1 artillery destroyed. Finally the infantry claimed 27 tanks destroyed in close combat actions. http://s9.postimage.org/3kuk8lbyn/Ba...Turn_32_13.jpg Of the heavy tank battalion’s total 45 claims, 34 were made by the IS-II tanks and 11 by the T-5g tanks. http://s9.postimage.org/qc3muzwzz/Ba...Turn_32_14.jpg The commander of the tank destroyer battery, Kaptain Rogov, became the battle hero during this defensive action when he and his crew managed to destroy two Tiger II tanks in less than 30 seconds. His crew is also one of the few crews to have been a part of the taskforce from the very beginning. Battle result: Since the Soviet taskforce managed to hold the lines, stop the small breach made by the Germans and caused so much damage among the German’ lines, the battle ended in a decisive victory. Replacing losses: The battle outcome meant that the entire taskforce could have its losses completely replaced. The only exception were the two armoured AOP vehicles, where the question remains what to replace them with. The heavy tank battalion got their remaining 4 T-5g tanks replaced with the captured Tiger II tanks, renamed T-7 to avoid any confusion with the T-6 - captured Tiger I tanks. This since these crews already were accustom to using captured German’ tanks. The old T-5g tanks, along with one of the captured Panther G, were given to the tank destroyer platoon, thus transforming it into a medium tank platoon, since the T-5g tanks so far have had a proven combat record within the Soviet’ taskforce. The tank destroyer battery finally reached full strength with 11 SU-85M in service. The final step will be to equip this unit with the new SU-100 tank destroyers when they finally start being delivered to the combat units. The anti-aircraft platoon got their old AA trucks replaced with lend-and-lease ZSU-M15 halftracks from the USA. These vehicles have armour plating, which makes them less vulnerable against small arms fire and increases the overall chances of survival on the battlefield. The infantry also saw some changes with 8 of the Bazooka teams being replaced by snipers, one within each infantry company. New basic force: Basic force: -Soviet HQ + T-5g APC (8 men) -Heavy Tank Battalion (28 IS-II & 4 T-7 - 132 men) -Tank Destroyer Battery (11 SU-85M - 44 men) -Medium Tank Platoon (5 T-5g - 25 men) -Artillery Regiment (8 122 mm - 288 men) -Anti-Aircraft Platoon (4 ZSU-M15 - 16 men) -Anti-Tank Battery (6 57 mm L73 - 30 men) -Infantry (8 infantry & 1 MG Companies, 8 snipers and 8 Bazooka - 1.152 men) Battle Six: Hungry, November 1944 - Defend Support forces: -Fortification works: Minefields, barbed wire, dragon’s teeth & trenches |
Re: The final push towards Berlin 1944-45!
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With the tactics of using a complete line of dragon's teeth from the north to the south being successful, this tactic was used again. However, this time double lines of dragon's teeth were used again together with strands of barbed wire in the wooded areas. This battle is going to be more difficult than the last defensive action, since there are more wooded areas, which in turn means more places for the enemy forces to hide. However the newly captured T-7 heavy tanks, although somewhat low on ammunition, should even these odds out. Otherwise the tactics used are the same as before: The infantry, AT guns and tank destroyers are dug in with the heavy tanks acting as a mobile reserve force. Let the battle begin... Cheers, Taskforce |
Re: The final push towards Berlin 1944-45!
Why are the attached images so small? I can't really see the details, other than the big arrows.
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Re: The final push towards Berlin 1944-45!
The problem is that the large overview pics become compressed in order to fit this forum. I would sugest that you would click on "Quote" and then copy the image adresse, that way you should be able to see the larger picture.
Cheers, Taskforce |
Re: The final push towards Berlin 1944-45!
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Just like the previous battle, this battle also turned out to be a hard one. And the decision to use two lines of dragon’s teeth this time turned out to be a good one, since it bought the Soviet’ taskforce just enough time to turn a possible defeat into a decisive victory. http://s14.postimage.org/fc4bhv1ld/B..._Turn_41_5.jpg To begin with a small number of tanks appeared in the centre and soon the captured T-7 proved their worth, scoring the first kills by destroying Panther tanks with hits in the frontal armour at distances greater than 1.500 metres. It soon became clear that the German’ forces were focusing their attacks in the centre and south, making it possible for the forces in the north to make a careful advance through the double lines of dragon’s teeth while at the same time sending their tanks and tank destroyers south. http://s7.postimage.org/onk7shiyj/Ba..._Turn_41_6.jpg As the German’ losses in tanks grew, so did their determination to counter the fierce resistance by the Soviet’ taskforce. The tanks and AT guns on the centre hill received a lot of artillery fire and the Germans also kept countering the Soviet’ artillery, causing some casualties among their ranks as well. Soon the battle turned into a battle where both sides played a deadly game of cat and mouse making snapshots at the enemy tanks when ever possible. At the same time, the German’ Me 109 fighter-bombers continued to attack the Soviet’ ground forces over and over again. http://s7.postimage.org/pjpvzf7ej/Ba..._Turn_41_7.jpg In the north the infantry units continued to advance behind German’ lines undetected, but in the centre and south the Germans slowly but surely pushed their way through the lines of dragon’s teeth, which piece by piece being were opened up by the rugged German’ infantry. It was clear that there was going to be a breakthrough, the only questions were when and where. At the same time the pounded Soviet’ artillery couldn’t focus its fire enough to be able to counter this, forcing it to fire at a few German’ tank concentrations one at a time. http://s13.postimage.org/tjnw7svo7/B..._Turn_41_8.jpg In the north the Soviet’ infantry managed to destroy three mortar positions and shortly after that also managed to reach the rear centre German’ lines, destroying a forth mortar position. Here they also encountered the German HQ, which finally was destroyed after a long drawn out fire fight between them and the infantry. http://s14.postimage.org/5p9zzmndd/B..._Turn_41_9.jpg This couldn’t have come at a better time, because by now the German’ forces had managed to breach the double lines of dragon’s teeth in two places, sending lots of tanks through the south hole and a handful through the centre hole. The north group was easy to destroy by the ambushing IS-II tanks, but the south group took longer to grind to a halt, also since the captured T-7 tanks had run out of ammunition and largely had been forced to turn back. But as luck would have it, the German’ forces were stopped just in time without a single flag lost to the enemy. http://s14.postimage.org/7skf7an69/B...Turn_41_10.jpg Losses: The Soviet’ taskforce lost 11 tanks and armoured vehicles plus a total of 530 men and the Germans lost about 1.000 men, 137 tanks and armoured vehicles, 3 halftracks, 4 mortar positions plus 1 Me 109 shot down. Of the German’ tanks lost, one was a Tiger II captured intact, and this tank was taken up by the Soviet’ taskforce as soon as possible. The Soviet’ losses included 6 IS-II with 4 crews, 3 T-5 tanks with crews, 1 SU-85M with crew, 1 ZSU-M15 with crew plus 1 AT gun crew due to the German artillery. Claims: The heavy tank battalion claimed 74 tanks and 1 halftrack destroyed. The tank destroyer battery claimed 12 tanks destroyed. The infantry claimed 17 tanks, 2 halftracks and 4 mortar positions destroyed in close combat actions. And finally the artillery as a whole was credited with 34 tanks destroyed after inspecting the wrecked German’ tanks after the battle. Of the total claims made by the heavy tank battalion, 19 were made by the captured T-7 tanks and 56 by the IS-II tanks. Battle result: Despite the odds the Soviet’ taskforce managed to hold their lines, stop the final attack on the flags and also infiltrate behind the German’ lines, thus this battle also turned out to a decisive victory. Replacing losses: The heavy tank battalion got their lost tanks replaced without any problems at all. The captured T-7 was given to the commander with crew of this unit as a reward after faithful service after leading the unit to many victories. The tank destroyer battery was completely reequipped with the new SU-100 and its crews retrained. This new tank destroyer should give the successful unit more punch in the future battles to come. The three lost T-5 tanks weren’t replaced, so the medium tank platoon will have to make due with just two T-5. Compared to the other units of the taskforce, this unit has suffered more losses and bad luck and it’s future fate within the taskforce will be decided in the near future. The destroyed ZSU-M15 was replaced at once. The losses suffered by the infantry and artillery were completely replaced. Finally the decision was reached to replace the destroyed armoured forward observation vehicles with two independent 203 mm batteries. This should provide the taskforce with an extra punch when supporting the rest of the units during the battles to come. New basic force: Basic force: -Soviet HQ + T-5g APC (8 men) -Heavy Tank Battalion (27 IS-II & 5 T-7 - 133 men) -Tank Destroyer Battery (11 SU-100 - 44 men) -Medium Tank Platoon (2 T-5g - 10 men) -Heavy Artillery Regiment (4 122 mm & 4 152 mm - 288 men) -Heavy Artillery Batteries (2 203 mm - 112 men) -Anti-Aircraft Platoon (4 ZSU-M15 - 16 men) -Anti-Tank Battery (6 57 mm L73 - 30 men) -Infantry (8 infantry & 1 MG Companies, 8 snipers and 8 Bazooka - 1.152 men) Battle Seven: Hungry, December 1944 - Advance Support forces: -Heavy Tank Company (10 IS-II - 40 men) -Tank Destroyer Battery (11 ISU-122s - 44 men) -Air Support (4 Il-2 Shturmovic - 8 men) |
Re: The final push towards Berlin 1944-45!
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The plan is simple: The taskforce will advance in three forces - Force A, Force B and Force C - and since the visability is limited to only 450 metres, the infantry will act as scouts and the tanks and tank destroyers as support for the advancing infantry. The AT guns get the day off, since they won't needed for the advance and the SU-100 and ZSU-M15 will stay behind as a reserve force, just in case something unexpected happens. Force A consists of infantry and 27 IS-II and has the objective to capture the north flag group. Force B consists of 5 T-7 and 2 T-5 together with infantry and will capture the centre flag group. Force C consists of 10 IS-II and 11 ISU-122s along with infantry and will capture the south flag group and sweep through the south forest area, to spot any nasty surprices there. Let the battle begin. Cheers, Taskforce |
Re: The final push towards Berlin 1944-45!
Quote:
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Re: The final push towards Berlin 1944-45!
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The tactic to deploy the infantry in front of the tanks as a scout force was time consuming but turned out to be the right one, mainly due to one lucky factor. Nine minutes into the advance the German’ mortars and rocket artillery opened fire at force A, and although none of the advancing forces could spot their firing positions from the ground, from the air the supporting IL2 Shturmovic aircraft could. Immediately counter artillery was ordered and three minutes later it struck with full force, disabling the entire force of mortar and rocket artillery positions during a merciless three minute pounding. http://s1.postimage.org/l82dtpv7j/Ba..._Turn_45_5.jpg After this the advancing forces A, B and C could continue to advance towards their targets pretty much unstoppable, only pausing their movement slightly in order to destroy the isolated pockets of resistance they faced. http://s2.postimage.org/fcfip4jwp/Ba..._Turn_45_6.jpg Sixteen minutes into the advance the scouting infantry of force C spotted two Marder II that were guarding the open field to the south. A quick regroup of the advancing IS-II and ISU-122s and both targets were destroyed within a minute, not standing a chance against the 21 heavily armoured vehicles. After this the main force split into two groups, the largest heading north-west towards the south flag group and the smallest searching the forest area to the south. Minutes later the largest group spotted two more Marder II, and these two were also destroyed within minute. Now the route towards the north forest area where the south flag group was located was open. http://s1.postimage.org/mi4smiedb/Ba..._Turn_45_7.jpg Nineteen minutes into the advance of group A and B small units of German’ infantry was spotted and it didn’t take long to force them to the retreat. A few minutes later the first air attack by the IL2 Shturmovic aircraft revealed the positions of the German’ tanks defending the flag group. Two minutes after that a T-5 was knocked out while on route to the centre flag group, the crew being killed. At the same time the Soviet’ artillery kept pounding the German’ defensive line and all the forces were slowly advancing towards their targets, gaining ground as they went along slowly but surely. http://s2.postimage.org/5hodiwfyh/Ba..._Turn_45_8.jpg North of the north flag group scouting infantry spotted a large force of German’ tanks and thirteen IS-II tanks were ordered to head for them in order to stop a possible counterattack. A few minutes later all the German’ tanks were destroyed for no losses. In the forest south of the south flag group a platoon of German’ tanks was also spotted and counterattacked, but these too were also destroyed, one being left behind abandoned by its crew. At the centre flag a T-7 was knocked out by a Panzerfaust, but luckily the crew - the commander of the heavy tank battalion - survived. http://s13.postimage.org/rhuhielhj/B..._Turn_45_9.jpg After additional air attacks and artillery fire both the north and centre flag groups could finally be captured at the same time and ten minutes later also the south flag group. The advance had been very slow and the taskforce got very lucky when being able to disable all of the mortar and rocket artillery positions, but the tactic paid off with minimal losses and maximal control of the flag areas after their capture. This battle turned out to be a school book example of an advance with perfect cooperation between the advancing infantry and the supporting tanks. http://s7.postimage.org/idv0m9m6j/Ba...Turn_45_10.jpg Losses: The Soviet’ taskforce lost 2 tanks and 154 men, 149 of them infantry. The German’ taskforce lost about 500 men, 49 tanks and 15 artillery. Of the 49 tanks lost by the German’ taskforce, 3 - 2 Panther G and 1 Hetzer - were found abandoned on the battlefield. Of the two Soviet’ tanks destroyed, one was a T-7, the entire crew surviving, and one was a T-5 with crew. Claims: The heavy tank battalion claimed 27 tanks destroyed. The medium tank platoon claimed 3 tanks destroyed. The supporting ISU-122s tank destroyer battery claimed 8 tanks destroyed. The infantry claimed 5 tanks, 2 AA guns and 4 AT guns destroyed. The supporting IL2 Shturmovic aircraft claimed 1 tank destroyed. And finally the artillery as a whole was credited with 2 tanks, 4 mortar positions and 5 rocket artillery positions destroyed after inspections of the German’ wrecks after the battle. Of the total claims made by the heavy tank battalion, 9 were made by the T-7 tanks and 18 by the IS-II tanks. Battle result: Since all of the flags were captured and the German’ forces were too depleted to recapture them, the battle ended with a decisive victory. Replacing losses: The heavy tank battalion was reequipped with the new IS-IIm, with a faster firing main gun, better firing accuracy and slightly better frontal armour, and the crews retrained. The four surviving T-7 remain in service since their combat record continues to impress. None of the T-5 tanks lost by the medium tank platoon were replaced. The remaining T-5 will act as mobile support to either the heavy tank battalion or the tank destroyer battery. The future fate of this unit remains uncertain. The losses suffered by the infantry were completely replaced. New basic force: Basic force: -Soviet HQ + T-5g APC (8 men) -Heavy Tank Battalion (28 IS-IIm & 4 T-7 - 132 men) -Tank Destroyer Battery (11 SU-100 - 44 men) -Medium Tank Platoon (1 T-5g - 1 men) -Heavy Artillery Regiment (4 122 mm & 4 152 mm - 288 men) -Heavy Artillery Batteries (2 203 mm - 112 men) -Anti-Aircraft Platoon (4 ZSU-M15 - 16 men) -Anti-Tank Battery (6 57 mm L73 - 30 men) -Infantry (8 infantry & 1 MG Companies, 8 snipers and 8 Bazooka - 1.152 men) Battle Eight: East Prussia, January 1945 - Assault Support forces: -Heavy Tank Battalion (32 IS-II - 128 men) -Engineer Tank Platoons (6 PT-34 - 24 men) -Heavy Artillery Regiment (4 122 mm & 4 152 mm - 288 men) -Ski Snipers (3 men) |
Re: The final push towards Berlin 1944-45!
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Before advancing towards the flag areas, capturing the high ground in the middle of the battlefield is vital. This since it could be the site of numerous anti-tank guns or even heavy tanks. Because of this it will also be the main target of the whole artillery support in the beginning of the assault. Thus the attacking force is devided into three attack forces: Forces A and B will have the job of capturing the high ground, taking it from two different sides at once, before continuing towards their respective targets, the north and centre flag groups. Force A consists of 6 SU-100 and infantry and force B of 5 SU-100, 1 T-5g and infantry. Force C consists of 60 IS-IIm, 4 T-7 and 6 PT-34 tanks, all of them carrying infantry, and will have the dangerous job of advancing through the south forest area, probably full of minefields, and then continue towards the south flag group and the small forest area to the south-west of it. The rest of the taskforce, the AT guns and the AA vehicles, will have the job of securing the flanks just in case the German' taskforce launches a surprice attack. Let the battle begin... Cheers, Taskforce |
Re: The final push towards Berlin 1944-45!
What's a T7? Also, that might just me, but I feel the amount of forces is a little too high for the map size, especially for meaningful tactics/maneuvre.
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Re: The final push towards Berlin 1944-45!
Oh yeah, that's a good point. How big a map are you playing? And how many turns?
I see that you have about a regiment or brigade sized force. I usually play only a battalion's (2,000pts) worth and my map is 120-160. |
Re: The final push towards Berlin 1944-45!
If you read the whole thread from the very beginning, you should have that explaned.
A T-7 is a captured Tiger II, since four Tiger II were abandoned and captured about four battles ago. I decided to name them T-7 since T-6 already was used for captured Tiger I tanks. In this case the total will be 10 battles (could be that I set it at 12 battles, don't renember) and each map is 100x100 hexes (5x5 km). Also, this AAR series is only a simulation, during WW2 I know for a fact that the Red Army disliked both the Tiger I and Tiger II due to their size an lack of manuverability and prefered the Panther, StuG III, Jagdpanther and PzKpfw IV instead. Cheers, Taskforce |
Re: The final push towards Berlin 1944-45!
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As expected this battle turned out to be a hard one. Although the artillery had bombarded the high ground heavily, it would still take about 35 minutes to capture it. And for the large mass of tanks in the south it would take 25 minutes to finally break through the minefields and get some speed on to start advancing towards the south flag group. Also, after the battle no less than 10 Soviet’ tanks and tank destroyers were immobilised due to either snowdrifts or mines, and some were also destroyed due to the German’ artillery. In the south, after finally breaking through the minefields, two Hetzer tank destroyers was found to be the only thing defending the wide open area south of the road, and as expected they proved no problems for the mass of heavy Soviet’ tanks. In the forest two more Tiger I were spotted, but after some distraction and softening up by the infantry they were both destroyed by the heavy tanks. One PzKpfw IV was also destroyed by the mine clearing T-34 tanks. Meanwhile a small group of heavy tanks were heading towards the rear of the German’ area to the south and destroyed four artillery vehicles located there. In the centre the T-5g and two SU-100 on the high ground found out the hard way that they were in the gun sights of two Tiger I and some Panther G tanks and all were destroyed, the T-5g crew surviving. Other SU-100 on the high ground however managed to destroy the Panther G tanks and then continued to support the infantry that was crossing the frozen river on their way towards the centre flag groups. Although the Soviet heavy tanks far outnumbered the German’ tanks they were facing, they still had some problems with a group of Panther G tanks, that were defending the road. The solution was to have the invading tanks in the rear area making a U turn, thus capturing the German’ tanks between the two groups of Soviet’ tanks and finally destroying them. Some pillboxes were also spotted and destroyed by the T-7 tanks. Finally, after a very hard struggle, the superior Soviet’ forces managed to repel the German’ counterattacks and first capture the south flag group, quickly followed by the two centre flag groups. During the battle the new SU-100 proved to truly pack a powerful punch but to have an armour protection that proved no match for the Tiger I and Panther G, even at a distance. Among the losses of the tank destroyer battery was one of the few original veteran crews with no less than 19 confirmed kills to their credit. Losses: The Soviet’ taskforce lost 270 men and 14 tanks. The German’ taskforce lost about 550 men, 17 artillery, 3 pillboxes and 51 tanks. The heavy tank battalion lost 3 tanks and 1 crew. The tank destroyer battery lost 2 tanks and 2 crews. The remainder of the medium tank platoon lost 1 tank. The supporting heavy tank battalion lost 4 tanks and 1 crew. And finally the supporting mine clearing tank platoons lost 4 tanks and 4 crew. Claims: The heavy tank battalion claimed 18 tanks and 3 pillboxes destroyed. The tank destroyer battery claimed 7 tanks and 1 anti-tank gun destroyed. The supporting heavy tank battalion claimed 24 tanks destroyed. The supporting mine clearing tank platoons claimed 1 tank destroyed. The infantry claimed 1 tank and 3 anti-tank guns destroyed. And finally the artillery as a whole was credited with 13 artillery positions destroyed after a closer inspection of the battlefield after the battle was over. Battle result: All three flaggroups were captured and severe losses inflicted on the German’ taskforce, but the battle only ended as a minor victory. Replacing losses: The destroyed IS-IIm tanks and SU-100 tank destroyers were completely replaced, as were the losses suffered by the infantry. At the same time the infantry companies got their anti-tank mines replaced with captured Panzerfaust anti-tank weapons. It was also decided to replace the T-5c APC with a Kosmopolet, since the T-5c APC suffered a severe mechanical breakdown beyond repair after the battle. Finally it was decided to re-transform the medium tank platoon into a tank destroyer platoon, equipped with SU-100 tank destroyers. This platoon was attached to the tank destroyer battery, thus transforming this unit into a reinforced tank destroyer battery. New basic force: Basic force: -Soviet HQ + Kosmopolet (8 men) -Heavy Tank Battalion (28 IS-IIm & 4 T-7 - 132 men) -Reinforced Tank Destroyer Battery (16 SU-100 - 64 men) -Heavy Artillery Regiment (4 122 mm & 4 152 mm - 288 men) -Heavy Artillery Batteries (2 203 mm - 112 men) -Anti-Aircraft Platoon (4 ZSU-M15 - 16 men) -Anti-Tank Battery (6 57 mm L73 - 30 men) -Infantry (8 infantry & 1 MG Companies, 8 snipers and 8 Bazooka - 1.152 men) Battle Nine: Germany, February 1945 - Meeting engagement Support forces: -Reduced Heavy Tank Company (9 IS-IIm - 36 men) -Air Support (4 IL-2 Shturmovic - 8 men) |
Re: The final push towards Berlin 1944-45!
http://s14.postimage.org/5k2kesgsh/Battle_9_Turn_0.jpg
The plan is to let the two forces of IS-IIm tanks and infantry tank the north area, most importantly the high grounds, and to let the major force of infantry advance slowly in the south. The T-7 tanks and SU-100 tank destroyers will act as reserves to begin with but with the orders to advance when needed. The AT guns will secure the rear area just incase everything goes wrong and the enemy tries anything unexpected. Cheers, Taskforce |
Re: The final push towards Berlin 1944-45!
Due to a virus of some kind, Steel Panther WW2 stopped working and I had to re-install the game again. Thus this campain is no longer playable and has to be aborted.
Cheers, Taskforce |
Re: The final push towards Berlin 1944-45!
For those who are interested...here are the final results of this AAR, before the virus forced me to abort it.
http://s23.postimg.org/for0n0jy3/Bat...10_Results.jpg In total the Soviet' taskforce managed to destroy 896 German' tanks, armoured vehicles and halftracks for a loss of only 144 Soviet' tanks. Cheers, Taskforce |
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